Chapter 85

“I’m going to show you this spell. Let’s see how good your intuitive understanding of Thaumaturgy Spellcasting is,” Rolen said as he extended one hand, palm open, the other resting lightly behind his back. 

Fabrisse stared, trying to track every detail. The angle of the arm, the steadiness of breath, the fractional delay before ignition. It’s a bit similar to Severa’s Basic Combustion Funnel. However, there was no whisper of a mnemonic, no incantation at all.

A soft snap of light curled upward from his palm, flaring briefly into a flame no bigger than a candle’s. It hung there, perfectly still, like a trick of the air.

“This is my own twist on Combustion Funnel. If you do it a certain way, you can keep the mnemonic in your head,” he said as he ignited another candle atop the existing one.

“Are you allowed to cast non-Synod-approved spells?” Fabrisse asked. “Also, are you allowed to cast Fire spells inside a room inside a room full of combustible material?”

“The rules only apply to sub-Archmagi level, Kestovar.” Rolen shrugged.

Well, that’s unfair.

The second flame flickered above the first, perfectly balanced. Fabrisse realized neither was emitting heat—at least, not in the usual way. The air wasn’t warming and his skin didn’t prickle. It was Fire in shape alone, not in nature.

“As much as I want to learn, I have yet to gain an affinity with Fire,” Fabrisse’s voice came out even smaller than he’d intended.

“That means you kind of suck, Kestovar,” Rolen said.

“Uh, thanks.”

The conventional Synod-approved method of gaining affinity worked over an extended period of time. Conducted in controlled thaumaturgic environments, candidates are gradually exposed to raw elemental pressure (like being near controlled flame-cores). This process was part of every Apprentice’s education. If, after months of sweating, murmuring mnemonics, and accidentally setting their eyebrows on fire, a student still failed to resonate with even a single element, they were politely asked to consider ‘alternate academic paths.’ Meaning they were expelled.

Fabrisse somehow managed to achieve an affinity with Earth and Air, so he got to stay.

He opened his Diagnostics again to look at his affinities.

[AETHERIC DIAGNOSTIC]

— Aetheric Core: Active

— Resonant Element 1: Water (Trace Affinity — Unintegrated — 3%)

— Resonant Element 2: Earth (Latent Stability — Partial Integration — 29%)

— Resonant Element 3: Air (Trace Affinity — Inconsistent Channel — 17%)

— Resonant Element 4: Fire (Trace Stability — Suppressed Link — 9%)

— Concordance Element: Internal Hoarding Alignment (UNIQUE – Unstandardized)

— Trait Detected: Hoarder’s Mental Structure (Persistent — Cognitive Layer Integration)

[NOTE: Anomalous emotional cross-link detected between Earth and Concordance channels.]

CATEGORIES:

[SYSTEM DIAGNOSTICS]

[SETTINGS]

“What’s on the wall, Kestovar?” Rolen’s voice pulled him back to reality.

Lorvan spoke, “The Eidralith is communicating with him, Archmagus. Best we let him be.”

“Hopefully the artifact doesn’t make it a habit to communicate when he’s taking a dump,” Rolen replied.

Fabrisse saw the word ‘Affinity’ glowed slightly if his vision hovered over it, so he mentally tapped on the word.

Affinity Levels (for quick reference)

Level

Description

0% – Null

No access. Cannot shape or bind spells of this element.

1–24% – Trace

Can observe and imitate, but not reliably cast.

25–59% – Latent

Can cast with assistance (e.g., mnemonics, foci, or catalysts).

60–84% – Full

Self-sufficient casting. Emotion Sync stabilizes automatically.

85–100% – Deep Affinity

Element bleeds into caster’s presence. Passive effects occur.

According to this, a caster probably needed at least a latent affinity to be able to cast spells.

“Am I too old to gain affinity with an element?” Fabrisse swatted the glyph away and asked meekly.

“Too old?” Rolen scoffed. “You’re not a cheese wheel. You don’t expire.”

Fabrisse flushed. “I meant thaumaturgically.”

“Oh, then yes. You're absolutely on the brink of magical menopause. But there are ways.” He leaned in like someone offering a bad idea at a tavern. “Unorthodox ways.”

“Archmagus, if I may—” Lorvan stood.

“This is an extraordinary set of circumstance, don’t you think, Lugano?” Rolen said without turning back. “The boy will be fine.”

That doesn’t sound fine.

Lorvan stayed silent, then sat down again.

Fabrisse perked up. “Illegal?”

Rolen replied, “Absolutely. But only in the ‘frowned upon by polite society’ kind of way. Not the ‘summoning demon centipedes in the library basement’ kind of illegal.”

“That’s a specific example.”

“Because I’ve seen it. Not pretty.” He turned and rummaged through his robes, eventually pulling out something wrapped in worn, purple silk, and placed it on the nearby shelf. Inside: a small obsidian sphere with silver veins crawling across its surface, softly pulsing. “This is an Elemental Lodestone. Synod says they’re unstable, unreliable, and liable to ‘dilute the sanctity of natural magical attunement.’ I say they’re fast, painful, and effective.”

[UNREGISTERED ARTIFACT DETECTED]
→ Lodestone, Elemental (Attunement Catalyst, Epic Tier)
Origin: [Pre-Synod Thaumaturgic Rebellion]
Stability: Volatile – requires constant emotional regulation
Effect: Boosts EMO, SYN, ARC by 25%. Boosts DEX, INT, STR by 12%.

Warning: Side effects include nausea, spellbacklash, personality bleed, temporary possession, and spontaneous planar displacement.
Usage beyond sanctioned environments constitutes a felony.

Fabrisse’s eyes seemed to have lit up at the mere idea of an aiding stone. His fingers hovered, hesitant, reverent—then closed around the Lodestone like a drowning man grabbing a rope. The pulse of it was irregular, hot and cold in cycles, as if testing him back.

He didn't care.

This was speed. This was a cheat code, a shortcut past the long road of meditation, diagrams, and emotionally taxing feedback loops that always left his fingertips numb and his mind knotted like old wire.

He didn’t dare chancing a glance at his mentor. Lorvan was probably looking at him very judgmentally.

“But . . . Headmaster Draeth hates rocks,” Fabrisse murmured.

Rolen said, “Some people in the Synod abhor artifacts because it democratizes magic, Kestovar. If anyone with a bit of coin or luck can grab an affinity stone and start casting mid-tier spells? The hedge-mage market will be booming. You’d do well to remember that.”

Lorvan immediately added. “Artifacts also introduce unpredictable variables, and more importantly, dulls the emotional and cognitive feedback training.”

“That, too, but the downsides are vastly overstated. Don’t worry about it.”

Rolen sounded like he’d cheated plenty of times using artifacts during his youth . . .

“We’ll train with this. But of course, only if you want to,” Rolen smiled.

“What’s the minimum time I can achieve Latent affinity with this stone?” Fabrisse asked.

“Hmm. I’d say . . .” He glanced up the ceiling. “Two weeks.”

“Let’s make it one,” Fabrisse placed a firm hand on the shelf, Lodestone gripped tight like a war-banner. A crackle of displaced air signaled the Lodestone syncing slightly with his own arcane signature.

[ARCANE INTERFACE UPDATE]

→ Initial resonance detected. Calibration in progress.

Warning: You are not emotionally stable enough for peak synchronization. Consider journaling.

“Please adjust your expectations to match your abilities, Kestovar,” Lorvan said.

“. . . Three weeks.”